Vaughan Gunson: Political parties' response tells a lot about the nature of the Wellington protest

Some will want to turn anger into the kind of ugly political movement we associate with Donald Trump in the United States. Photo / NZME

There's no neutral response to a protest. Your reaction depends on the issue and your politics.

I don't care for the one in Wellington. Still, on another day, another government, another issue, I might support people blockading Parliament. I might even join them if I felt the cause was just and that protesting might achieve something.

My point is that there's no objectively right way to respond to a protest. It comes down to your political beliefs, and if you're a politician, your political calculations.

You can tell a lot about the nature of the Wellington protest by how each party has responded so far.

Firstly Labour. They've been genuinely repulsed by the violent, misogynist, neo-Nazi- inspired rhetoric of many of the protesters. Way beyond a fringe. For their condemnation of these elements, they should be applauded.

But they also seem to have been surprised and unprepared for the protest. Not expecting it to grow and strengthen.

Then, all of us who have broadly supported the Government's approach to the Covid threat are perhaps guilty of underestimating the anger felt by people who — for whatever reason— don't wish to get vaccinated.

The mandates, particularly the vaccine pass and requirements for public sector workers to be vaccinated to maintain their jobs, undoubtedly accelerated vaccination rates. Those decisions will have saved lives.

But they are tough calls that have severely impacted a minority. People who we have no problem calling our friends and colleagues.

To maintain the integrity of its whole Covid strategy, however, Labour has to hold mandates in place for now. Most of the country would be justifiably disgusted if they didn't. Lives are still at stake as Omicron surges and Delta lingers.

The assured performance of the Prime Minister on Monday will have gone some way to reasserting control of the political narrative, which the protesters had succeeded in taking away from the Government. It came a week late, unfortunately.

For National and Chris Luxon, their decision not to meet with the protesters is recognition they are wary of the racist and irrationally anti-government, anti-democratic elements in the protest. National wants to be a party of government, not of extremes.

Yet National also wants to tap into the general tiredness and more pointed resentment towards Labour's Covid strategy. Especially from the business community.

Their statements in Parliament and in the media have walked a fine line.

The danger for Luxon and National is that among older voters, there's still understandable apprehension and risk to catching Covid. If National shows too much support for the sentiments behind the Wellington protest, they could still alienate some of their own voter base. And they don't want to be seen to be undermining the Government's messaging in the middle of a health crisis. Something they could be accused of doing already.

There's no objectively right way to respond to a protest. It comes down to your political beliefs, and if you're a politician, your political calculations. Photo / NZME

So far, David Seymour has been the only political leader to directly engage with the protest. This is unsurprising, given Act has consistently advocated a less-restricted response to Covid. Without the responsibility of having to make decisions, of course.

Act's engagement with the protests is not surprising for another reason. They're the closest political home for those who want "freedom" without responsibility and are sympathetic to Trump-style ignorance and hate directed at so-called Māori "privilege". Seymour seems happy to wade into those waters.

The Greens probably have little to gain or lose from the protest.

However, a criticism would be that the Greens haven't offered effective opposition to some aspects of Labour's handling of Covid. It doesn't have to come from the right.

Without undermining the overall strategy, the Greens could be a much stronger pole of attraction than they are.

As for the Māori Party, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer's assessment was basically: "Call that a protest? That's a mess."

For Māori involved in historic protests, the undisciplined protest outside Parliament looks incoherent, without articulate leaders and clear aims.

The seabed and foreshore protest of 2004 saw the emergence of the Māori Party, which took votes and mana away from Labour.

The emergence of a serious political party out of the current protest looks unlikely.

Not that we should be complacent. Some will want to turn anger into the kind of ugly political movement we associate with Donald Trump in the United States. Or worse.

It's up to all of us, not just the political parties in Parliament, to counter that threat.

No matter how you've been impacted by the Covid mandates, don't lose your head and get pulled into the orbit of the despicable neo-fascist undercurrents at the Wellington protest or spouting their rubbish online.